FRIDAY marked the 24th anniversary of one of the darkest days in Canadian history. On December 6, 1989, unspeakable horror unfolded on a Montreal campus. In an act of unimaginable cruelty, 14 brilliant young women, in the prime of their lives, were shot dead. They were killed because they were women. Jinny Sims (Newton-North Delta) stood in the House of Commons on Friday to acknowledge the tragedy:

“As a mother and grandmother, I want to say to the families of the women who lost their lives that day: We don`t forget. We won`t forget. We dare not imagine your pain.”

In a moving tribute, Sims named each one of the victims: “Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz; Genevieve Bergeron; Helene Colgan; Nathalie Croteau; Barbara Daigneault; Anne-Marie Edward; Maud Haviernick; Maryse Laganiere; Maryse Leclair; Anne-Marie Lemay; Sonia Pelletier; Michele Richard; Annie St-Arneault; Annie Turcotte. We remember. And in their memory, We work for change.”

Over half of Canadian women will experience violence at some point in their lives. No one is immune.

New Democrats say they are working hard every day to keep dangerous weapons out of dangerous hands; to demand justice for the hundreds of Aboriginal women who have vanished from our streets, and to build a Canada where everyone lives safely.

Those 14 women are owed nothing less.